| Business logistics |
|---|
   |
| Distribution methods |
| Management systems |
| Industry classification |
Atrade route is alogistical network identified as a series of pathways and stoppages used for the commercial transport of cargo. The term can also be used to refer to trade over land or water.[citation needed] Allowinggoods to reach distantmarkets, a single trade route contains long-distancearteries, which may further be connected to smaller networks of commercial and noncommercial transportation routes. Among notable trade routes was theAmber Road, which served as a dependable network for long-distance trade.[1]Maritime trade along theSpice Route became prominent during theMiddle Ages, when nations resorted to military means for control of this influential route.[2] During the Middle Ages, organizations such as theHanseatic League, aimed at protecting interests of the merchants and trade became increasingly prominent.[3]
Inmodern times, commercial activity shifted from the major trade routes of theOld World to newer routes between modernnation-states. This activity was sometimes carried out without traditional protection of trade and under internationalfree-trade agreements, which allowed commercial goods to cross borders with relaxed restrictions.[4] Innovative transportation of modern times includespipeline transport and the relatively well-known trade involvingrail routes,automobiles, andcargo airlines.
Long-distance trade routes were developed in theChalcolithic period. The period from the middle of the 2nd millenniumBCE to the beginning of theCommon Era saw societies in Southeast Asia, Western Asia, the Mediterranean, China, and the Indian subcontinent develop major transportation networks for trade.[5]
One of the vital instruments which facilitated long-distance trade wasportage and the domestication ofbeasts of burden.[6] Organized caravans, visible by the 2nd millennium BCE,[7] could carry goods across a large distance as fodder was mostly available along the way.[6] The domestication ofcamels allowedArabiannomads to control the long-distance trade inspices andsilk from theFar East to theArabian Peninsula.[8] Caravans were useful in long-distance trade largely for carrying luxury goods, the transportation of cheaper goods across large distances was not profitable for caravan operators.[9] With productive developments in iron and bronze technologies, newer trade routes – dispensing innovations of civilizations – began to rise.[10]
Navigation was known inSumer between the 4th and the 3rd millennium BCE.[7] TheEgyptians had trade routes through theRed Sea, importing spices from the "Land of Punt" (East Africa) and from Arabia.[11]
In Asia, the earliest evidence of maritime trade was theNeolithic trade networks of theAustronesian peoples among which is thelingling-ojade industry of thePhilippines,Taiwan, southernVietnam and peninsularThailand. It also included the long-distance routes of Austronesian traders fromIndonesia andMalaysia connectingChina withSouth Asia and theMiddle East since approximately 500 BCE. It facilitated the spread of Southeast Asian spices and Chinese goods to the west, as well as the spread ofHinduism andBuddhism to the east. This route would later become known as theMaritime Silk Road, although that is a misnomer, since spices, rather than silk, were traded along this route. Many Austronesian technologies like theoutrigger andcatamaran, as well as Austronesian ship terminologies, still persist in many of the coastal cultures in theIndian Ocean.[12][13][14]
Maritime trade began with safer coastal trade and evolved with the manipulation of the monsoon winds, soon resulting in trade crossing boundaries such as theArabian Sea and theBay of Bengal.[15]South Asia had multiple maritime trade routes which connected it toSoutheast Asia, thereby making the control of one route resulting in maritime monopoly difficult.[15] Indian connections to various Southeast Asian states buffered it from blockages on other routes.[15] By making use of the maritime trade routes,bulk commodity trade became possible for theRomans in the 2nd century BCE.[16] A Roman trading vessel could span the Mediterranean in a month atone-sixtieth the cost ofover-land routes.[17]
The peninsula ofAnatolia lay on the commercial land routes to Europe from Asia as well as the sea route from the Mediterranean to theBlack Sea.[18] Records from the 19th century BCE attest to the existence of anAssyrian merchant colony atKanesh inCappadocia (now in modernTurkey).[18] Trading networks of the Old World included theGrand Trunk Road of India and theIncense Road ofArabia.[5] A transportation network consisting of hard-surfaced highways, using concrete made from volcanic ash and lime, was built by the Romans as early as 312 BCE, during the times of theCensorAppius Claudius Caecus.[19] Parts of the Mediterranean world,Roman Britain,Tigris-Euphrates river system and North Africa fell under the reach of this network at some point of their history.[19]
According to Andrew Sherratt:
"The spread of urban trading networks, and their extension along thePersian Gulf and eastern Mediterranean, created a complex molecular structure of regional foci so that as well as the zonation of core and periphery (originally created aroundMesopotamia) there was a series of interacting civilizations: Mesopotamia, Egypt, theIndus Valley; then alsoSyria, central Anatolia (Hittites) and theAegean (Minoans andMycenaeans). Beyond this was a margin which included not onlytemperate areas such as Europe, but the drysteppe corridor ofcentral Asia. This was truly a world system, even though it occupied only a restricted portion of the western Old World. Whilst each civilization emphasized its ideological autonomy, all were identifiably part of a common world of interacting components."[20]
These routes – spreadingreligion, trade and technology – have historically been vital to the growth of urban civilization.[21] The extent of development of cities, and the level of their integration into a larger world system, has often been attributed to their position in various active transport networks.[22]
The Incense Route served as a channel for trading of Indian, Arabian and East Asian goods.[23] The incense trade flourished from South Arabia to the Mediterranean between roughly the 3rd century BCE to the 2nd century CE.[24] This trade was crucial to the economy ofYemen and thefrankincense andmyrrh trees were seen as a source of wealth by its rulers.[25]
Ptolemy II Philadelphus, emperor ofPtolemaic Egypt, may have forged an alliance with theLihyanites in order to secure the incense route atDedan, thereby rerouting the incense trade from Dedan to the coast along the Red Sea to Egypt.[26]I. E. S. Edwards connects theSyro-Ephraimite War to the desire of theIsraelites and theAramaeans to control the northern end of the Incense route, which ran up from Southern Arabia and could be tapped by commandingTransjordan.[27]
Gerrha – inhabited byChaldean exiles fromBabylon – controlled the Incense trade routes across Arabia to the Mediterranean and exercised control over the trading ofaromatics to Babylon in the 1st century BCE.[28] TheNabateans exercised control over the routes along the Incense Route, and their hold was challenged – without success – byAntigonus Cyclops, emperor of Syria.[29] The Nabatean control over trade further increased and spread in many directions.[29]
The replacement of Greece by theRoman empire as the administrator of the Mediterranean basin led to the resumption of direct trade with the East and the elimination of the taxes extracted previously by the middlemen of the south.[30] According to Milo Kearney (2003) "The South Arabs in protest took to pirate attacks over the Roman ships in theGulf of Aden. In response, the Romans destroyed Aden and favored the Western Abyssinian coast of the Red Sea."[31] Indian ships sailed to Egypt as the maritime routes of Southern Asia were not under the control of a single power.[30]
Some similarities between theMesoamerican and theAndean cultures suggest that the two regions became a part of a wider world system, as a result of trade, by the 1st millennium BCE.[32] The current academic view is that the flow of goods across the Andean slopes was controlled by institutions distributing locations to local groups, who were then free to access them for trading. This trade across the Andean slopes – described sometimes as "vertical trade" – may have overshadowed the long-distance trade between the people of the Andes and the neighboring forests. TheCallawaya herbalists traded in tropical plants between 6th and the 10th centuries, while copper was dealt by specialized merchants in thePeruvian valley ofChincha. Long-distance trade may have seen local elites resorting to struggle in order for manipulation and control.[33]
Prior to theInca dominance, specialized long-distance merchants provided the highlanders with goods such as gold nuggets, copper hatchets, cocoa, salt etc. for redistribution among the locals, and were key players in the politics of the region.[34] Hatchet shaped copper currency was produced by thePeruvian people, in order to obtain valuables frompre ColumbianEcuador.[34] A maritime exchange system stretched from the west coast of Mexico to southernmost Peru, trading mostly inSpondylus, which represented rain and fertility and was considered the principal food of the gods by the people of theInca empire.[34] Spondylus was used in elite rituals, and the effective redistribution of it had political effect in the Andes during the pre-Hispanic times.[34]
The Silk Road was one of the first trade routes to join theEastern and theWestern worlds.[35] According to Vadime Elisseeff (2000):[35]
"Along the Silk Roads, technology traveled, ideas were exchanged, and friendship and understanding between East and West were experienced for the first time on a large scale. Easterners were exposed to Western ideas and life-styles, and Westerners, too, learned about Eastern culture and its spirituality-oriented cosmology.Buddhism as an Eastern religion received international attention through the Silk Roads."
Cultural interactions patronized often by powerful emperors, such asKanishka, led to development of art due to introduction of a rich variety of influences.[35]Buddhist missions thrived along the Silk Roads, partly due to the conducive intermixing of trade and cultural values, which created a series of safe stoppages for both thepilgrims and thetraders.[36] The Silk Roads led to the creation of a merchant class urban centers and the growth of trade-based economies. Among the frequented routes of the Silk Route was theBurmese route extending fromBhamo, which served as a path forMarco Polo's visit toYunnan and Indian Buddhist missions toCanton in order to establishBuddhist monasteries.[37] This route – often under the presence of hostile tribes – also finds mention in the works ofRashid-al-Din Hamadani.[37]
The Grand Trunk Road – connectingChittagong in Bangladesh toPeshawar in Pakistan – has existed for over two and a halfmillennia.[38] One of the important trade routes of the world, this road has been a strategic artery withfortresses, halting posts,wells,post offices,milestones and other facilities.[38] Part of this road through Pakistan also coincided with the Silk Road.[38]
This highway has been associated with emperorsChandragupta Maurya andSher Shah Suri, the latter became synonymous with this route due to his role in ensuring the safety of the travelers and the upkeep of the road.[39] Emperor Sher Shah widened and realigned the road to other routes, and provided approximately 1700 roadsideinns through his empire.[39] These inns provided free food and lodgings to the travelers regardless of their status.[39]
The British occupation of this road was of special significance for theBritish Raj in India.[40] Bridges, pathways and newer inns were constructed by the British for the first thirty-seven years of their reign since the occupation ofPunjab in 1849.[40] The British followed roughly the same alignment as the old routes, and at some places the newer routes ran parallel to the older routes.[40]
Vadime Elisseeff (2000) comments on the Grand Trunk Road:[41]
"Along this road marched not only the mighty armies of conquerors, but also the caravans of traders, scholars, artists, and common folk. Together with people, moved ideas, languages, customs, and cultures, not just in one, but in both directions. At different meeting places – permanent as well as temporary – people of different origins and from different cultural backgrounds, professing different faiths and creeds, eating different foods, wearing different clothes, and speaking different languages and dialects would meet one another peacefully. They would understand one another's food, dress, manner, and etiquette, and even borrow words, phrases, idioms and, at times, whole languages from others."
The Amber Road was a European trade route associated with the trade and transport ofamber.[1] Amber satisfied the criteria for long-distance trade as it was light in weight and was in high demand for ornamental purposes around the Mediterranean.[1] Before the establishment of Roman control over areas such asPannonia, the Amber Road was virtually the only route available for long-distance trade.[1]
Towns along the Amber Road began to rise steadily during the 1st century CE, despite the troop movements underTitus Flavius Vespasianus and his sonTitus Flavius Domitianus.[42]Under the reign ofTiberius Caesar Augustus, the Amber Road was straightened and paved according to the prevailing urban standards.[43] Roman towns began to appear along the road, initially founded near the site ofCelticoppida.[43]
The 3rd century saw theDanube river become the principal artery of trade, eclipsing the Amber Road and other commercial routes.[1] The redirection of investment to the Danubian forts saw the towns along the Amber Road growing slowly, though yet retaining their prosperity.[44] The prolonged struggle between the Romans and the barbarians further left its mark on the towns along the Amber Road.[45]
Via Maris, literallyLatin for "the way of the sea",[46] was an ancient highway used by the Romans and theCrusaders.[47] The states controlling the Via Maris were in a position to grant access for trade to their own citizens and collect tolls from the outsiders to maintain the trade route.[48] The nameVia Maris is a Latin translation of aHebrew phrase related toIsaiah.[47] Due to thebiblical significance of this ancient route, many attempts to find its present-day location have been made byChristian pilgrims.[47] 13th-century traveler and pilgrim Burchard ofMount Zion refers to the Via Maris route as a way leading along the shore of theSea of Galilee.[47]
Early Muslim writings confirm that the people ofWest Africa operated a sophisticated network of trade, usually under the authority of a monarch who levied taxes and provided bureaucratic and military support to his kingdom.[50] Sophisticated mechanisms for the economic and political development of the involved African areas were in place beforeIslam further strengthened trade, towns and government in western Africa.[50] The capital, court and trade of the region find mention in the works of scholarAbū 'Ubayd 'Abd Allāh al-Bakrī; the mainstay of the transSaharan trade was gold and salt.[50]
The powerful Saharan tribes,Berber in origin and later adapting to Muslim and Arab cultures, controlled the channels to western Africa by making efficient use of horse-drawn vehicles and pack animals.[50] TheSonghai engaged in a struggle against the Sa'di dynasty ofMorocco over the control of the trans Saharan trade, resulting in damage on both sides and a weak Moroccan victory, further strengthening the uninvolved Saharan tribes.[50] Struggles and disturbances continued till the 14th century, by which theMandé merchants were trading with theHausa, betweenLake Chad and theNiger.[50] Newer trade routes developed following extension of trade.[50]
Long-distance maritime trade in the Indian Ocean were first established by theAustronesian peoples ofIsland Southeast Asia.[52][51] They established trade routes withSouthern India andSri Lanka as early as 1500 BCE, ushering an exchange of material culture (likecatamarans,outrigger boats, sewn-plank boats, andpaan) andcultigens (likecoconuts,sandalwood,bananas,sugarcane,cloves, andnutmeg); as well as connecting the material cultures of India and China.[53][54][55][14] They constituted the majority of the Indian Ocean component of thespice trade network.Indonesians, in particular were trading in spices (mainlycinnamon andcassia) withEast Africa usingcatamaran and outrigger boats and sailing with the help of theWesterlies in the Indian Ocean. This trade network expanded to reach as far asAfrica and theArabian Peninsula, resulting in the Austronesian colonization ofMadagascar by the first half of the first millennium AD.[disputed –discuss] It continued up to historic times, later becoming theMaritime Silk Road.[51][13][14][56][57] This trade network also included smaller trade routes withinIsland Southeast Asia, including thelingling-o jade network, and thetrepanging network.
In easternAustronesia, various traditional maritime trade networks also existed. Among them was the ancientLapita trade network ofIsland Melanesia;[58] theHiri trade cycle,Sepik Coast exchange, and theKula ring ofPapua New Guinea;[58] the ancient trading voyages inMicronesia between theMariana Islands and theCaroline Islands (and possibly alsoNew Guinea and thePhilippines);[59] and the vast inter-island trade networks ofPolynesia.[60]
ThePtolemaic dynasty (305 to 30 BC) had initiatedGreco-Roman maritime trade contact with India using the Red Sea ports.[61] The Roman historianStrabo mentions a vast increase in trade following the Roman annexation of Egypt, indicating that monsoon was known and manipulated for trade in his time.[62] By the time ofAugustus up to 120 ships were setting sail every year fromMyos Hormos to India,[63] trading in a diverse variety of goods.[64]Arsinoe,[65]Berenice Troglodytica and Myos Hormos were the principal Roman ports involved in this maritime trading network,[66] while the Indian ports includedBarbaricum,Barygaza,Muziris andArikamedu.[64]
The Indians were present inAlexandria[67] and the Christian andJewish settlers from Rome continued to live in India long after the fall of the Roman empire,[68] which resulted in Rome's loss of theRed Sea ports,[69] previously used to secure trade with India by the Greco-Roman world since the time of the Ptolemaic dynasty.[65]
Shortly before the 12th century theGermans played a relatively modest role in the north European trade.[70] However, this was to change with the development of Hanseatic trade, as a result of which German traders became prominent in theBaltic and theNorth Sea regions.[71] Following the death ofEric VI of Denmark, German forces attacked and sacked Denmark, bringing with them artisans and merchants under the new administration which controlled the Hansa regions.[72] During the third quarter of the 14th century the Hanseatic trade faced two major difficulties: economic conflict with theFlanders and hostilities with Denmark.[3] These events led to the formation of an organized association of Hanseatic towns, which replaced the earlier union of German merchants.[3] This new Hansa of the towns, aimed at protecting interests of the merchants and trade, was prominent for the next hundred and fifty years.[3]
Philippe Dollinger associates the downfall of the Hansa to a new alliance betweenLübeck,Hamburg andBremen, which outshadowed the older institution.[73] He further sets the date of dissolution of the Hansa at 1630[73] and concludes that the Hansa was almost entirely forgotten by the end of the 18th century.[74] ScholarGeorg Friedrich Sartorius published the firstmonograph regarding the community in the early years of the 19th century.[74]
The trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks (Russian:Путь "из варяг в греки",Put' iz varyag v greki,Swedish:Vägen från varjagerna till grekerna,Greek:Εμπορική Οδός Βαράγγων – Ελλήνων,Emporikḗ Odós Varángōn-Ellḗnōn) was a trade route that connected Scandinavia, Kievan Rus' and the Byzantine Empire. The route allowed traders along the route to establish a direct prosperous trade with Byzantium, and prompted some of them to settle in the territories of present-day Belarus, Russia and Ukraine.
The route began in Scandinavian trading centres such as Birka, Hedeby, and Gotland, crossed the Baltic Sea entered the Gulf of Finland, followed the Neva River into the Lake Ladoga. Then it followed the Volkhov River, upstream past the towns of Staraya Ladoga and Velikiy Novgorod, crossed Lake Ilmen, and up the Lovat River. From there, ships had to be portaged to the Dnieper River near Gnezdovo. A second route from the Baltic to the Dnieper was along the Western Dvina (Daugava) between the Lovat and the Dnieper in the Smolensk region, and along the Kasplya River to Gnezdovo. Along the Dnieper, the route crossed several majorrapids and passed through Kiev, and after entering the Black Sea followed its west coast to Constantinople.
The economic growth ofEurope around the year 1000, together with the lack of safety on the mainland trading routes, eased the development of major commercial routes along the coast of theMediterranean. The growing independence of some coastal cities gave them a leading role in this commerce:Maritime Republics, Italian "Repubbliche Marinare" (Venice,Genoa,Amalfi,Pisa,Gaeta,Ancona andRagusa[75]), developed their own "empires" in theMediterranean shores.
From the 8th until the 15th century, Venetian and genoese merchants held the monopoly of European trade with the Middle East. Thesilk andspice trade, involvingspices,incense,herbs,drugs andopium, made these Mediterranean city-states phenomenally rich. Spices were among the most expensive and demanded products of the Middle Ages. They were all imported from Asia and Africa. Muslim traders – mainly descendants of Arab sailors fromYemen andOman – controlled maritime routes throughout the Indian Ocean, tapping source regions in theFar East and shipping for trading emporiums in India, westward toOrmus inPersian Gulf andJeddah in theRed Sea. From there, overland routes led to the Mediterranean coasts. Venetian merchants distributed then the goods through Europe until the rise of theOttoman Empire, that eventually led to thefall of Constantinople in 1453, barring Europeans from important combined-land-sea routes.
As trade between India and theGreco-Roman world increased[76] spices became the main import from India to the Western world,[77] bypassing silk and other commodities.[78] The Indian commercial connection with South East Asia proved vital to the merchants of Arabia and Persia during the 7th and 8th centuries.[79]
TheAbbasids used Alexandria,Damietta,Aden andSiraf as entry ports to India and China.[80] Merchants arriving from India in the port city of Aden paid tribute in form ofmusk,camphor,ambergris and sandalwood toIbn Ziyad, thesultan of Yemen.[80]Moluccan products shipped across the ports of Arabia to the Near East passed through the ports of India andSri Lanka.[81] Indian exports of spices find mention in the works of Ibn Khurdadhbeh (850 CE), al-Ghafiqi (1150), Ishak bin Imaran (907) and Al Kalkashandi (14th century).[81] After reaching either the Indian or the Sri Lankan ports, spices were sometimes shipped to East Africa, where they were used for many purposes, including burial rites.[81]
On the orders ofManuel I of Portugal, four vessels under the command of navigator Vasco da Gama rounded theCape of Good Hope, continuing to the eastern coast of Africa toMalindi to sail across the Indian Ocean toCalicut.[82] The wealth of theIndies was now open for the Europeans to explore; thePortuguese Empire was one of the early European empires to grow from spice trade.[82]
TheMaritime Jade Road was an extensive trading network connecting multiple areas in Southeast and East Asia. Its primary products were made of jade mined fromTaiwan by animistTaiwanese indigenous peoples and processed mostly in thePhilippines by animist indigenous Filipinos, especially inBatanes,Luzon, andPalawan. Some were also processed inVietnam, while the peoples ofMalaysia,Brunei,Singapore,Thailand,Indonesia, andCambodia also participated in the massive animist-led trading network. Participants in the network at the time had a majority animist population. The maritime road is one of the most extensive sea-based trade networks of a single geological material in the prehistoric world. It was in existence for at least 3,000 years, where its peak production was from 2000 BCE to 500 CE, older than theSilk Road in mainland Eurasia or the laterMaritime Silk Road. A notable artifact that the trading network made, theLingling-o artifacts, were made by artisans around 500 BCE. The network began to wane during its final centuries from 500 CE until 1000 CE. The entire period of the network was a golden age for the diverse animist societies of the region.[83][84][85][86]
The Maritime Silk Road refers to themaritime section of historicSilk Road that connectsChina,Southeast Asia, theIndian subcontinent,Arabian Peninsula,Somalia and all the way toEgypt and finallyEurope. It flourished between 2nd-century BCE and 15th-century CE.[87] Despite its association with China in recent centuries, the Maritime Silk Road was primarily established and operated byAustronesian sailors in Southeast Asia, and byPersian andArab traders in theArabian Sea.[88]
The Maritime Silk Road developed from the earlierAustronesianspice trade networks ofIslander Southeast Asians withSri Lanka andSouthern India (established 1000 to 600 BCE), as well as the earlierMaritime Jade Road, known forlingling-o artifacts, in Southeast Asia, based inTaiwan and thePhilippines.[12][14] For most of its history, Austronesianthalassocracies controlled the flow of the Maritime Silk Road, especially thepolities around thestraits ofMalacca andBangka, theMalay Peninsula, and theMekong Delta; although Chinese records misidentified these kingdoms as being "Indian" due to theIndianization of these regions. Prior to the 10th century, the route was primarily used by Southeast Asian traders, althoughTamil andPersian traders also sailed them.[88] The route was influential in the early spread ofHinduism andBuddhism to the east.[89]
China later built its own fleets starting from theSong dynasty in the 10th century, participating directly in the trade route up until the end of theColonial Era and the collapse of theQing dynasty.[88]
The modern times saw development of newer means of transport and often controversial free trade agreements, which altered the political and logistical approach prevalent during the Middle Ages. Newer means of transport led to the establishment of new routes, and countries opened up borders to allow trade in mutually agreed goods as per the prevailing free trade agreement. Some old trading route were reopened during the modern times, although in different political and logistical scenarios.[90] The entry of harmful foreign pollutants by the way of trade routes has been a cause of alarm during the modern times.[91] A conservative estimate stresses that future damages from harmful animal and plant diseases may be as high as 134 billion US dollars in the absence of effective measures to prevent the introduction of unwanted pests through various trade routes.[91]
Networks, like theSanta Fe Trail and theOregon Trail, became prominent in the United States withwagon trains gaining popularity as a mode of long-distance overland transportation for both people and goods.[92] TheOregon–California routes were highly organized with planned rendezvous locations and essential supplies.[92] The settlers in the United States used these wagon trains – sometimes made up of 100 of moreConestoga wagons – for westward emigration during the 18th and the 19th centuries.[92] Among the challenges faced by the wagon route operators were crossing rivers, mountains and hostileNative Americans.[92] Preparations were also made according to the weather and protection of trade and travelers was ensured by a few guards on horseback.[92]Wagon freighting was also essential to American growth until it was replaced by therailroad and thetruck.[92]
The 1844 Railway act of England compelled at least onetrain to a station every day with the third class fares priced at apenny a mile.[93] Trade benefited as the workers and the lower classes had the ability to travel to other towns frequently.[94] Suburban communities began to develop and towns began to spread outwards.[94] The British constructed a vast railway network in India, but it was considered to serve a strategic purpose in addition to the commercial purpose.[95] The efficient use of rail routes helped in the unification of theUnited States of America,[96] and thefirst transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869.
The modern times saw nations struggle for the control of rail routes: TheTrans-Siberian Railway was intended to be used by the Russian government for control ofManchuria and later China; the German forces wanted to establishBerlin-Baghdad Railway in order to influence the Near East; and the Austrian government planned a route fromVienna toSalonika for control of theBalkans.[96]According to theEncyclopædia Britannica (2002):
Railroads reached their maturity in the early 20th century, as trains carried the bulk of land freight and passenger traffic in theindustrialized countries of the world. By the mid-20th century, however, they had lost their preeminent position. The private automobile had replaced the railroad for short passenger trips, while the airplane had usurped it for long-distance travel, especially in the United States. Railroads remained effective, however, for transporting people in high-volume situations, such as commuting between the centres of large cities and their suburbs, and medium-distance travel of less than about 300 miles between urban centres.
Although railroads have lost much of the general-freight-carrying business to semi-trailer trucks, they remain the best means of transporting large volumes of such bulk commodities as coal, grain, chemicals, and ore over long distances. The development ofcontainerization has made the railroads more effective in handling finished merchandise at relatively high speeds. In addition, the introduction of piggyback flatcars, in which truck trailers are transported long distances on specially-designed cars, has allowed railroads to regain some of the business lost to trucking.
The advent ofmotor vehicles created a demand for better use of highways.[97] Roads evolved into two way roads,expressways,freeways andtollways during the modern times.[98] Existing roads were developed and highways were designed according to intended use.[97]
Trucks came into widespread use in the Western World during World War I, and quickly gained reputation as a means of long-distance transportation of goods.[99] Modern highways, such as theTrans-Canada Highway,Highway 1 (Australia) andPan-American Highway allowed transport of goods and services across great distances. Automobiles continue to play a crucial role in the economies of the Industrialized countries, resulting in rise of businesses such as motor freight operation and truck transportation.[97]
The emission rate for cars using highways has been on a decline between 1975 and 1995 due to regulations and the introduction ofunleaded petrol.[100] This trend is especially notable since there has been a growth in vehicles and vehicle miles traveled by automobiles using these highways.[100]
A consistent shift from land based trade to sea-based trade has been recorded since the last three millennia.[101] The strategic advantages of port cities as trading centers are many: they are both less dependent on vital connections and less vulnerable to blockages.[102] Oceanic ports can help forge trading relationships with other parts of the world easily.[102]
Modern maritime trade routes – sometimes in the form of artificialcanals like theSuez Canal – had visible impact on the economic and political standing of nations.[103] The opening of the Suez Canal altered British interactions with the colonies of theBritish Empire as the dynamics of transportation, trade and communication had now changed drastically.[103] Otherwaterways, like thePanama Canal played an important role in the histories of many nations.[104] Inland water transportation remained significantly important even as the advent of railroads and automobiles resulted in a steady decline of canals.[105] Inland water transport is still used for the transportation of bulk commodities e.g. grains, coal, and ore.[106]
Waterway commerce was historically important to Europe, particularly to Russia.[105] According to theEncyclopædia Britannica (2002): "Russia has been a significant beneficiary. Not only have inland waterways opened vast areas of its interior to development, but Moscow – linked to theWhite,Baltic,Black,Caspian, andAzov seas by canals and rivers – has become a major inland port."[105]
Oil spills are recorded both in case of maritime routes and pipeline routes to the main refineries.[107] Oil spills, amounting to as much as 7.56 billion liters of oil entering the oceans every year, occur due to damaged equipment or human error.[107]
The21st Century Maritime Silk Road is a current project of the Chinese government to expand and intensify trade on the maritimeSilk Road. This is leading to major investments in ports, traffic routes and other infrastructure in Europe and Africa as well. The maritime silk road essentially runs from the Chinese coast toSingapore andKuala Lumpur, via the Sri Lankan Colombo towards the southern tip of India, to the East AfricanMombasa, from there toDjibouti, then via theSuez Canal to the Mediterranean, there viaHaifa,Istanbul andAthens to the Upper Adriatic region to the northern Italian hub ofTrieste with its international free port and its rail connections toCentral andEastern Europe and the North Sea.[108][109][110][111][112][113]
Historically, many governments followed a policy of protection of trade.[4] Internationalfree trade became visible in 1860 with the Anglo-French commercial treaty, and the trend gained further momentum[why?] during the period after World War II.[4]According toThe Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition:[4]
"After World War II, strong sentiment developed throughout the world against protection and high tariffs and in favor of freer trade. The results were new organizations and agreements on international trade such as theGeneral Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (1948), theBenelux Economic Union (1948), theEuropean Economic Community (Common Market, 1957), theEuropean Free Trade Association (1959),Mercosur (the Southern Cone Common Market, 1991), and theWorld Trade Organization (1995). In 1993, theNorth American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was approved by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States. In the early 1990s, the nations of theEuropean Union (the successor organization to theCommon Market) undertook to remove all barriers to the free movement of trade and employment across their mutual borders."
In May 2004 the United States of America signed the American Free trade Agreement with five Central American nations.[4]
Air transport has become an indispensable part of modern society.[114] People have come to use air transport both for long and middle distances, with the average route length of long distances being 720 kilometers in Europe and 1220 kilometers in the US.[115] This industry annually carries 1.6 billion passengers worldwide, covers a 15 million kilometer network, and has an annual turnover of 260 billion dollars.[115]
This mode of transportation links national, international and global economies, making it vital to many other industries.[115] Newer trends ofliberalization of trade have fostered routes among nations bound by agreements.[115] One such example, the AmericanOpen Skies policy, led to greater openness in many international markets, but some international restrictions have survived even during the present times.[115]
Express delivery through internationalcargo airlines touched US$20 billion in 1998 and, according to the World Trade Organization, is expected to triple in 2015.[116] In 1998, 50 pure cargo-service companies operated internationally.[116]
Air transport particularly favors light, expensive and small products: electronic media rather than books, for example, and refined drugs rather than bulk food.
The economic importance of pipeline transport – responsible for a high percentage of oil and natural gas transportation – is often unrecognized by the general public due to the lack of visibility of this mode.[117] Generally held to be safer and more economical and reliable than the other modes of transport, this mode has many advantages over rival modes, such as trucks and railways.[117] Examples of modern pipeline transport includeAlashankou-Dushanzi Crude Oil Pipeline andIran-Armenia Natural Gas Pipeline. International pipeline transport projects, like theBaku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, presently connect modern nation states – in this case,Azerbaijan,Georgia and Turkey – through pipeline networks.[118]
In some select cases, pipelines can even transport solids, such as coal and other minerals, over long distances; short-distance transportation of goods such as grain, cement, concrete, solid wastes, pulp etc. is also feasible.[117]
